Three-year mission to restore Southport cemetery complete

Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 6:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 6:03 p.m.

On a Saturday last month, she stood at the old cemetery’s gate, gesturing with outstretched arm, and said, “Three years ago, you couldn’t look across the place. Vines were coming from the trees, from the top, and from the ground up. It didn’t look like anybody had taken care of it in 20 to 30 years.”

She was Musette Steck, project manager of the Southport Historical Society. The place was the Old Smithville Burying Ground. It was the society’s last official workday on its latest three-year project, preparing it one final time as Labor Day approached.

Over the past few decades, the cemetery fell into disrepair and seemed forgotten, lost in a forest of moss and vines rising from a sea of weeds and leaves.

So the SHS adopted it. More than 100 volunteers put in more than 1,500 hours over the past three years to restore the 217-year-old cemetery. Nearly $14,000 went into the cemetery’s transformation, much of which came from the SHS Christmas Homes Tour from two years ago, Steck said.

Volunteers have filled up to 12 30-gallon bags a week with leaves. They’ve turned the filthiest tombstones into legible memorials.

Reece Swan, in his 80s now, has been daily visiting the grave of his nine buried family members, cleaning up the area, putting flowers on the graves.

“I’m getting old and I’m going to heaven. If I get there after leaving this a mess, Momma’s gonna send me back,” Swan said.

Debbie Jacoby came on at Steck’s request as the master gardener to help with the pruning, and in the process, took on a plot of her own, a Norwegian family.

“I’m first-generation Norwegian,” said Jacoby. “This man was born the same year I was in Norway. My mother would be proud I’m out here with them.”

Now that the society’s project is complete, the regular workdays will be no more. Those who volunteered may return; they may not. But, Steck said, if the city doesn’t want to waste thousands of dollars and three years’ worth of volunteer hours, something must change.

“They’ve done a fantastic job,” said Boguskie. “It looks so much nicer.”

“We have gotten it stabilized,” said Steck. “We’ve gotten the vegetation and everything stabilized. The weeds and the trees have no longer taken over. But it was totally because this place had been neglected by the city, and we felt it was such an historic jewel.”

Boguskie said Southport plans to occasionally import Brunswick County Jail inmates to clean up under the sheriff’s supervision. He emphasized, also, that citizens of Southport can walk in and clean whatever they feel needs cleaning.

“It doesn’t take long,” said Boguskie, who’s adopted a plot. “I can drive over there, cut the grass and rake mine and drive home all in about 45 minutes.”

“I think we owe it to the cemetery to keep it like this,” said Jacoby. She added later, “There’s something – magical is the wrong word – but something you really do like here when you work. It’s the peace and serenity. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s a feeling I have."

<p>On a Saturday last month, she stood at the old cemetery's gate, gesturing with outstretched arm, and said, “Three years ago, you couldn't look across the place. Vines were coming from the trees, from the top, and from the ground up. It didn't look like anybody had taken care of it in 20 to 30 years.”</p><p>She was Musette Steck, project manager of the Southport Historical Society. The place was the Old Smithville Burying Ground. It was the society's last official workday on its latest three-year project, preparing it one final time as Labor Day approached.</p><p>Over the past few decades, the cemetery fell into disrepair and seemed forgotten, lost in a forest of moss and vines rising from a sea of weeds and leaves. </p><p>“It had really gotten into terrible shape,” said Southport alderman Ed Boguskie.</p><p>So the SHS adopted it. More than 100 volunteers put in more than 1,500 hours over the past three years to restore the 217-year-old cemetery. Nearly $14,000 went into the cemetery's transformation, much of which came from the SHS <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/holidays02"><b>Christmas</b></a> Homes Tour from two years ago, Steck said.</p><p>Volunteers have filled up to 12 30-gallon bags a week with leaves. They've turned the filthiest tombstones into legible memorials. </p><p>Reece Swan, in his 80s now, has been daily visiting the grave of his nine buried family members, cleaning up the area, putting flowers on the graves. </p><p>“I'm getting old and I'm going to heaven. If I get there after leaving this a mess, Momma's gonna send me back,” Swan said.</p><p>Debbie Jacoby came on at Steck's request as the master gardener to help with the pruning, and in the process, took on a plot of her own, a Norwegian family. </p><p>“I'm first-generation Norwegian,” said Jacoby. “This man was born the same year I was in Norway. My mother would be proud I'm out here with them.”</p><p>Now that the society's project is complete, the regular workdays will be no more. Those who volunteered may return; they may not. But, Steck said, if the city doesn't want to waste thousands of dollars and three years' worth of volunteer hours, something must change.</p><p>“They've done a fantastic job,” said Boguskie. “It looks so much nicer.”</p><p>“We have gotten it stabilized,” said Steck. “We've gotten the vegetation and everything stabilized. The weeds and the trees have no longer taken over. But it was totally because this place had been neglected by the city, and we felt it was such an historic jewel.”</p><p>Boguskie said Southport plans to occasionally import Brunswick County Jail inmates to clean up under the sheriff's supervision. He emphasized, also, that citizens of Southport can walk in and clean whatever they feel needs cleaning. </p><p>“It doesn't take long,” said Boguskie, who's adopted a plot. “I can drive over there, cut the grass and rake mine and drive home all in about 45 minutes.”</p><p>“I think we owe it to the cemetery to keep it like this,” said Jacoby. She added later, “There's something – magical is the wrong word – but something you really do like here when you work. It's the peace and serenity. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's a feeling I have."</p>